Some elaboration:
1) In our scientific discussions on veganism in the past few months here I did come that the disadvantages of veganism, all of the ones that I could argue with a straight face, would whither away with modest consumption of animal products, avoidance of becoming a junk food vegan, and emphasis on fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, olive, coconut). That was true to the extent of my "knowledge", as a modest consumption of animal products is enough to bring in D3, K2, retinol, EPA, DHA, etc. and other micronutrients that are harder to find in plant-based sources. Perhaps, though, my reasoning is **** (somehow), and then this will fail and I'll find that educational.
My breakfast this morning was haphazard: some strawberries, some kombucha, some mixed nuts, and a spoon of coconut oil. I'm working on it. When my mixed nuts run out I will replace them with a container of salted mixed nuts, to get more salt, which is harder to do without meat.
2) I am finding it difficult to eat as much. First, just cutting out sugar is major for me, I was eating *a lot* of pastries/cookies/ice cream the past few weeks, certainly more than 1,000 calories a day on many days. It did contribute adipose fat and that's bad ... but some of it was converted to energy and it's going to be hard to replace. I'm finding myself a little tired, and a little dizzy too when I stand up. You know, if you pick up a chocolate-cherry scone with your latté in the morning, that's 600 calories right there. It doesn't all go to fat, some of it is converted to energy.
It's kind of as if I've been fasting for a few days, but I have not been and it's not going to get better unless I eat more. When fasting, the body eventually starts converting ~2,500 calories a day of body fat into energy, and then mood recovers. That cannot happen on a low-calorie, high-carb diet due to the insulin, the body has a relatively hard time converting body fat into energy, and so "calories in, calories out" will take the form of slower metabolism. So I'll have to figure out how to eat more. I think that I only have a few days to do this properly otherwise I risk getting very sick.
Most of the restaurants nearby have no supportive options, nearly all don't, and it's unbearable to eat the same thing over and over again. This does explicitly reveal a major reason why a lot of vegans are healthier: they cannot eat out. They cannot go to most restaurants. They cannot use vending machines or buy chocolate bars from the gas station as those usually contain dairy, gelatin, etc. They are forced to prepare their own food, which is intrinsically healthier. Alternatively, however, it's also anti-social if you have to avoid most social outings ending up in restaurants where you can't eat.
ETA: Today's lunch was a bowl of rice, vegetables, tofu, sesame seeds, dressing, and spices at an Asian place. The dressing (e.g. hot sauce, soy sauce) likely contained added sugar. Afterwards I had a banana, an apple, and a coffee.
